Plane-spotters fear Christmas in jail

One of the 12 British plane-spotters facing spy charges in Greece says the group fear they will remain in jail over Christmas.

Wayne Groves says they were promised they would hear something by last Monday or Tuesday but nothing has happened.

Mr Groves says those being held at Nafplion prison, near Athens, are fed-up.

They have been trying to keep their morale up with quizzes, books. They also watched a Premiership match between Arsenal and Aston Villa on television.

Mr Groves, 38, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, said: "With Christmas approaching, we are getting concerned now.

"On December 20, the courts pack up for Christmas until January 7, which is obviously causing us concern.

"We have been here for 32 nights now. They reckon we were taking pictures at the air show, but within four to five hours we proved we had not."

The group, 12 Britons and two Dutchmen, has been behind bars since November 8 following organised visits to Greek air bases.

They insist they did not violate a ban on photography and we were only engaged in their hobby of observing aviation operations.

Mr Groves said: "After 5pm we are in two parts of the prison. They put the bars down the middle, so we lose contact. There are three of us who are separated."